


When I first saw you, the end was soon

by Jaguaryu



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 5+1, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, From Spanish to English, M/M, The Author Regrets Everything, Translation, this is the hill i will die on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28643952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaguaryu/pseuds/Jaguaryu
Summary: Five times in which someone wonders what is going on between Ramsay and Theon, and the time when there is no way to deny it.
Relationships: Ramsay Bolton/Theon Greyjoy
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	When I first saw you, the end was soon

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Cuando te vi por primera vez, supe que el fin estaba cerca](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28625367) by [Jaguaryu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaguaryu/pseuds/Jaguaryu). 



> I would like to mention that this is a very rough translation. I'm smart in Spanish, I swear (?)
> 
> And I don't know what I'm doing. I think it needs more blood and torture, but I don't have the courage or the talent to do it, so here we go with mild descriptions of abuse and general wrongness *sobs*
> 
> But, I do know that the "Game of Thrones" fandom, "A Song of Ice and Fire" fandom, and especially the Thramsay fandom ♥, have helped me a lot to cope with the horror of the pandemic so I wanted to give back a little.
> 
> The tittle is from "NFWMB" by Hozier, because I'm not really a person but a bunch of Hozier lyrics glued together.
> 
> No beta here. We die like men.

**_Myranda._ **

"What's going on between you and him?"

"Myranda."

She hears the warning.

"I'm just saying that you spend an awful lot of time in his company. It's unusual." She intends to pose the question with a disinterested tone. She doesn't want to sound jealous (or worse, _accusing_ ) in the slightest, but a bit of recrimination rings in her voice, regardless.

"It's just a distraction. A good distraction, but nothing more” Ramsay responds without turning around, putting on his jacket and looking at himself in the mirror one last time before going out. As if those words explained everything.

And Myranda can't do anything but watch him go. Oh, she wants to yell at him, wants to throw half of whatever she can grab, wants to kiss him until her lips go numb, but she doesn't dare. Her jealousy would bore him and she doesn't want Ramsay to end up considering her a nuisance. That would be suicidal.

These past few days, the indifference is evident in his body language whenever his attention has to be focused on her or in the life she has been dreaming for both of them.

Starkly contrary to the relief shown in the drop of his shoulders when he gets a text message from the fucking Greyjoy boy. He can't hide the malevolent smile that spreads across his face when he holds him close. A smile almost breathtaking, like the crescendo of a sinister and beautiful symphony.

Myranda fumed with bitterness. But maybe, just maybe, it's all in her head.

**_Robb._ **

Theon has always been difficult and that's something Robb can admit in the privacy of his thoughts. And by saying that, Robb doesn't mean that Theon is a burden, he means that Theon has a fragile heart. "Affable", some would say. Too soft for such a massively impulsive personality. Always ready to chase the adventure, ignoring all the warning signs, with the only goal in mind of savoring the danger and the feeling of being accepted with all his lower instincts. And for that, he always suffers the fall the most.

And Robb can never save him from himself.

If he's not completely lost yet, it's only a matter of time before his best friend finds himself at the Bastard of Bolton's mercy. It's a certainty that runs through his body, like ice in his veins, since Theon began to decline invitations to waste a Saturday watching bad movies in his apartment. Instead, he started to go to heavy metal concerts and shady bars with Bolton.

Robb knows Ramsay Bolton. He knows him by his reputation and has interacted with him long enough to know that there is something _wrong_ with him. There's something twisted, that crawls through his fanged smile. Something stiff, that gleams cruelly in his winter eyes. He's cold. And distant from his own humanity. He looks at those around him as experiments waiting to be done. Like lab samples that he hasn't finished labeling just yet. Like meat waiting to be cut.

When he talks to other people, it’s shockingly evident that he takes a dark and sadistic pleasure in making them uncomfortable, and there is nothing Robb hates more than a bully.

Robb doesn't understand what's going on and he's scared.

This can only end in tragedy, because Theon refuses to listen.

Because Theon accuses Robb of not trusting him and his ability to make decisions.

Robb accuses him back of repeating Ramsay's words. He argues that it seems like the bastard is trying to alienate him from his friends. He persists that he's not looking to play the role of a brave knight. That he trusts Theon, really, but he won't ever trust Bolton, because the things that are said about him on the streets, are material for horror stories.

"This guy is bad news and everyone knows! That doesn't matter to you? His family name has always been associated with terrible things, but the rumors are downright _vile_ since he started working for his father. And I don't want to see how you become the obsession of such a dangerous man. Theon, please-"

"Do you really think he's obsessed with me...?"

And Robb has to stop because he hears him say that like he's short of breath. He sees, truly sees, his best friend. He watches as his turquoise eyes fill with longing, a longing as deep as the sea… and he has the impression that he just made things worse.

**_Damon._ **

Damon has spent enough time in Ramsay Bolton's orbit to know that Theon Greyjoy is the very best definition of "pathetic".

Damn, the way he looks at Ramsay. As if the boss has given Theon the moon and the stars. Gods, the poor fool has fallen for Ramsay's performance of a modern and solicitous boyfriend. A young and relaxed sugar daddy of sorts.

The jerk's pants almost fall off every time Ramsay whispers some dirty nonsense in his ear and holds him around the waist. It's a sad picture, seriously. Damon is waiting for the moment when Ramsay sheds the facade and falls on Greyjoy with all his anger and his brutality.

Not even Myranda, in all these years, has managed to convince Ramsay to formalize their relationship. What has made this poor ugly thing believe that he is different? The audacity.

This guy is going to be the laughingstock of the group for decades to come.

It's laughable to entertain the notion that the boss wants Theon for more than just good old fun; more than shaking off boredom.

Ramsay wasn't cut out for romance, he didn't have the right neurological setup and there was nothing to be done about it.

But the thing is that the months keep passing. Sinful marks and scars begin to reveal themselves in some areas of Theon's skin that clothes can't seem to cover. And the squid doesn’t run off as fast as he can, Ramsay doesn't throw him to the wolves and Damon is confused.

On a night off from the thrice damned pet, Damon gathers the courage to ask the boss when he's going to share Theon with them. You know, to play with. It wouldn't be the first toy he shares nor the last, for sure.

Silence invades the room in an instant, to his bewilderment. Alyn looks everywhere but him, Skinner has leaned his entire body in the direction of the door and the rest is staring at the floor.

He feels Ramsay's icy eyes pierce his face like daggers. He feels his gaze like something physical and sharp against his throat. In a voice dripping with venom and false sweetness, Ramsay asks him to repeat the question. He hasn't heard Damon quite well.

Damon suddenly remembers all the things he has seen Ramsay do, slowly and precisely. With pleasure.

Damon is silent.

**_Jon._ **

What happens is that he has agreed to make Sansa company on her shopping day; he has gladly carried her bags and expressed honest opinions, although he has no idea what the advantages of an "emperor cut" dress are. It's boring to death but he’s fine, he would do anything for his sister.

He has gladly accepted the teenager's choice of restaurant. Although he’s sure that his father won't be as happy as them when they show him the bills.

After they finish and while they wait for the bill, Sansa takes the opportunity to check her cellphone and Jon takes a look at the local clientele. There is a couple of reporters, sponsors, and high society members that he recognizes. He remembers their faces from when they once entered the Stark property, even if the names escape him.

He's about to turn his attention back to the table when he catches, out of the corner of his eye, two hideously familiar faces. So close to each other that it was almost indecent.

Sansa discovers the end of his gaze and falls into the same stupor for a few seconds. She tries, perhaps, to make sense of what she sees and babbles the first thing that comes to her mind.

"You know... love is not what the poems say. For some, I suppose. It doesn't have to be fluffy. Love can be pain too... A pain that you don't want to stop feeling."

Jon resists the urge to roll his eyes. He knows that Sansa is doing her best to explain an impossible situation. And above all, Sansa is a romantic.

Before leaving, he shots a last glance at the couple on the corner, hidden in the intimacy of the gloom and oblivious to the world.

 _Theon would agree with Sansa_ , he thought.

Jon and Theon have known each other for a long time now, and still, he will never understand what happens through the guy's head or the reason behind his actions, but he's not going to judge him. Everyone is doing what they can, with what they have.

**_Walda._ **

Walda Bolton is good at using common sense. Her family, the Freys, along with most of her acquaintances, have never considered the possibility that she possesses any relevant qualities. Not even her husband has asked for her opinion on anything.

But, be as it may, she takes pride in being able to make sense of chaos and see order where there seems to be none. Above all, in being able to see the bright side of things.

In another life, perhaps, she would have liked to play the game of the great lords. But in this one, she feels too much compassion, which makes her attentive to the needs of others.

"My mother used to tell me," Walda says to Roose's oldest son, after a while, as the boy seethes with rage in a corner of the property, "that you should never go to bed on a fight."

"That will depend on whether he is keeping secrets from me," the poor child spits in response, his back to her.

Walda won't let herself be scandalized by Ramsay's behavior.

After the mandatory dinner of every week was finished, Roose requested to speak with Theon. When Ramsay made a gesture to go with them, a calm and insensitive glance from Roose was enough to freeze him in his spot.

"Your father is only worried for you. In his own way, I mean. You know how he is. And it's obvious that Theon only has eyes for you, you don't have to worry." Walda insists tenderly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Love is complicated, Ramsay."

Ramsay, who has not even deigned himself to look at her during the conversation, in that moment he turns so fast that his neck creaks and looks like he's about to suffer a stroke due to the force of his indignation... When suddenly Theon appears, looking for him.

Something inhuman and ungodly passes through Ramsay's eyes, Walda notices. But she also takes note of the desperation, almost perfectly hidden, with which he takes Theon's hand and hides him from the world.

Yes, Walda trusts her common sense.

* * *

**_+1_ **

**_Roose._**

Roose has speculated about the situation. With the usual emotional detachment, of course. However, he has been curious about the matter of his son’s relationship from the beginning and, therefore, he proceeds with the pertinent investigation quickly, because knowledge is important in his line of work.

Especially when a large part of his work consists of drawing Ramsay's limits and counting his mishaps.

Just as vigilance and awareness of the surroundings should be a priority for his son, given the work he does for Roose and the enemies he seeks.

Roose admits that stopping by the apartment unannounced and waiting to discuss a client who has proven _difficult_ is probably… rude. However, Ramsay has obligations that can't be delayed and it's obvious that he’s overly confident in his security system. His new "employees" have let him through without much questioning. These days, no one can't be completely trusted just because they show up with an ID. He will remind Ramsay of that.

Also, it’s a rookie mistake not to do a general sweep of the place, before entering. Before moving from room to room in a frenzy, with the hands full of the Greyjoy boy, stripping off his clothes and weapons without any care.

Ramsay is too distracted. He is too busy, even.

Roose pours himself some liquor from the couple's pantry and decides to wait outside.

If they were other people, he wouldn't have the grace to wait, but Theon answered all of his questions correctly the last time and Ramsay's wild mood swings had eased a bit. To be fair, Roose Bolton likes Theon. He considers him a good addition to the family. Hopefully for Theon, he will remain that way.

And judging by the sounds coming from the main bedroom, Ramsay thinks the same.

**Author's Note:**

> Any criticism you want to share, will be very well received, I promise you. No mercy. I will try to reward you by improving.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
